In this study, health care-associated C. difficile infection and colonization were differentially associated with defined host and pathogen variables. The NAP1 strain was predominant among patients with C. difficile infection, whereas asymptomatic patients were more likely to be colonized with other strains. (Funded by the Consortium de Recherche sur le Clostridium difficile.).

VER THE PAST DECADE, SEVeral studies have suggested that blood transfusions depress immune function in recipients. 1,2 Evidence of transfusion-associated immune suppression emerged following observations that blood transfusions improved renal allograft survival 3 and accelerated 4 and increased postoperative infections. 5 A recent randomized controlled trial undertaken to examine infections in cardiovascular surgical patients found an approximately 4.2% absolute decrease in mortality but no decrease in

There is an independent incremental association between delays in administrating antibiotics and mortality from adult acute bacterial meningitis. Inappropriate diagnostic-treatment sequences were significant predictors of such treatment delays.

To determine the prevalence of antibody to Chlamydia heat-shock protein 60 (C-hsp60) in women with tubal infertility, an ELISA using purified recombinant C-hsp60 was developed. Antibody to C. trachomatis was present in 32 (72.7%) of 44 women with tubal infertility compared with 9 (32.1%) of 28 with other causes of infertility and 55 (28.9%) of 190 pregnant women (P < .001). Among the seropositive women, antibody to C-hsp60 was present in 26 (81.3%) of 32 women with tubal infertility compared with 0 of 9 with other causes of infertility and 9 (16.4%) of 55 pregnant women (P < .001). The C-hsp60 ELISA detected Chlamydia-associated tubal infertility in infertile women with a sensitivity of 81.3% and a specificity of 97.5%. There is a strong association between antibody response to the C-hsp60 and the development of Chlamydia-associated tubal infertility. Thus, a C-hsp60 ELISA may be useful as a predictor for poor fertility outcome.